In Crawford County, RSVP serves the communities of Bucyrus, Galion, Crestline and New Washington, Ohio.  In October 2009, the county did not have an avenue for high school drop outs to get the tutoring they needed to obtain their GED.  One RSVP station, Ohio Heartland Community Action Commission, became aware of this situation.  They saw this as a critical need that should be addressed.  With a small amount of local funding and three RSVP volunteers, Community Action put a program together in 30 days.

Adults, who had not yet received their high school diploma, began attending classes two days a week, receiving the assistance they needed to prepare for their GED exam.  As of April 2011, 89 individuals have received instruction and 14 have received their GED.  Assistance has also been given to the students in paying for the testing.

The impact of this rewarding service has been an inspiration for many.  Upon learning of the lack of tutoring availability in Crawford County from the Crawford County Center Director Karen Wise at Ohio Heartland Community Action Commission, OHCAC Board President Bruce Angell took the lead with this initiative.  Not only did Bruce work to help create this service opportunity, he also volunteers as a tutor two days a week.  Bruce, a former teacher and retired businessman, has been joined by three other retired teachers- Mary and Doug Court and Doug Green, working with students in small groups and on a one-to-one basis to provide the individual attention that is sometimes necessary for students to succeed.

If it were not for the service provided by this RSVP station and the dedicated RSVP volunteers, members of this Crawford County community would have to travel to other counties to achieve their goal.  With barriers such as transportation and gasoline costs, this truly exemplifies the program's contribution to impact in higher education, increasing the percentage of individuals receiving higher education and their ability to find jobs.

Many of the students have been away from the educational system for over a decade; however, the non-threatening, individualized environment provided at the Community Action Center by the RSVP volunteers has drawn them to this program.  Classes fill up quickly each term.  The RSVP volunteers, through their dedication and caring, provide an atmosphere where adults are not uncomfortable in their surroundings.  In fact, the students find themselves cheerfully working to learn and succeed.

Ohio Heartland Community Action Commission is determined to continue this service as long as there is a need and there are dedicated RSVP volunteers in the Crawford County community.  In fact, as a result of the passion these RSVP volunteers have toward the service they are providing, the classes have increased from two to four days a week as of April 11, 2011.  This truly exemplifies the unselfish contribution of service to their community by the RSVP volunteers.  They have definitely taken up the challenge to address a critical education issue in their community!